On October 3, 1918, Marine Corporal John
Henry Pruitt II, while operating with American Expeditionary Forces in
Blanc Mont, France, single-handedly attacked two German machine-gun positions.

Pruitt was killed in action; he died
on his 22nd birthday. Medals shown, left to right: Medal of Honor, Maltese
Cross, unidentified medal, Croix de Guerre, Croce di Guerra and the Victory
Medal.

Pruitt killed two German soldiers and captured
40 more. Later that same day, while serving on sniper duty, he was hit
by a mortar shell and gravely wounded.

He died the next day — on his 22nd birthday.

Military experts have said that Pruitt not
only saved many American soldiers' lives but also that his heroic efforts
greatly helped his unit accomplish its mission.

For his valor, Pruitt was posthumously decorated.
Pruitt received two Medals of Honor, one from the Navy and one from the
Army. He was also awarded the Croix de Guerre by France, and the Croce
di Guerra by Italy, both medals are those countries equivalents to the
American Medal of Honor. In addition, Pruitt received two purple hearts,
four silver stars, four bronze stars, and several other combat and victory
medals. He was the first person from Arizona to earn a Medal of Honor.

"I can't find anybody who was more decorated
than he was," said John H. Pruitt III, the Cottonwood nephew of Corporal
Pruitt.

The younger Pruitt and his three sisters have
conducted considerable research into their famous uncle's military honors.

Buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Corporal
Pruitt was cited by President Woodrow Wilson, and the Navy named a destroyer
after him. The USS Pruitt was launched in 1920.

Born in Pruitt Hallow, Arkansas, in 1896, Corporal
Pruitt moved to Jerome with his family. His father, who had been a farmer
in Arkansas, became a blacksmith in the mines of Jerome, according to Georgia
Ahrlich, Corporal Pruitt's niece. The Pruitt family believes Corporal Pruitt
attended elementary school in Jerome for several years before his family
moved to Phoenix.

According to a family scrapbook and old newspaper
clippings, Hurley B. Pruitt, the father of John Pruitt III, and the brother
of Corporal Pruitt, was the first marshal of Scottsdale.

John Pruitt III and his sisters allowed all
of the medals to be displayed in the Arizona Capitol for several years.
Eventually, the collection was broken up when some of the medals were included
in the Freedom Train tour in 1976. Some of the medals disappeared and have
not been accounted for.

On April 22, John Pruitt III and his sisters
went to the state capitol and retrieved the medals so they could be donated
to the U.S. Marine Corps for display in the Corps' new museum scheduled
to open in 2005.

"Ten years ago I was offered $250,000 for the
medals," John Pruitt III said. "Today, they'd probably be worth half a
million."

But John and his sisters all agree they wouldn't
feel right selling the medals. They feel it would diminish their uncle's
acts of valor. "Besides," John said, "those medals belong to the Marines."Born
at Pruitt Hollow, Boston Township, Fallsville, Arkansas, October 4, 1896,
the first child born to John Henry and Mary Marshall Pruitt.

He was a DOUBLE recipient of the Medal
of Honorduring World War I while serving with the 78th
Company, 6th Regiment of Marines, 2nd Division, American Expeditionary
Forces (AEF), at Blanc-Mont, France, October 3, 1918. He was killed in
that action. He was the receipient of BOTH the United States Navy and the
United States Army Medals of Honor.

He was returned to the United States where
he was buried in Section 18 of Arlington National Cemetery.
Pruitt, John HenryBorn 1 October 1896, died 4 October 1918US Marine Corps, Corporal Section 18, Grave 2453, buried 13 October
1921

Corporal Pruitt single-handed attacked 2 machineguns,
capturing them and killing 2 of the enemy. He then captured 40 prisoners
in a dugout nearby. This gallant soldier was killed soon afterward by shellfire
while he was sniping at the enemy.
PRUITT, JOHN HENRY (Navy Medal)

For extraordinary gallantry and intrepidity
above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 78th Company,
6th Regiment, 2d Division, in action with the enemy at Blanc Mont Ridge,
France, 3 October 1918. Corporal Pruitt, single-handed attacked 2 machineguns,
capturing them and killing 2 of the enemy. He then captured 40 prisoners
in a dugout nearby. This gallant soldier was killed soon afterward by shellfire
while he was sniping the enemy.